Tea's Arrival in Europe Tea's Arrival in Europe By James Norwood Pratt When the Dutch brought the first tea to Europe in 1610, England's Good Queen Bess had been dead seven years, Shakespeare had six years to live, and Rembrandt was four years old. After decades of Portuguese middle-manship, the Dutch East India Company had been formed in 1602, to establish bases in Indonesia and Japan and trade directly with the Orient. And by 1637 the Company's directors, the Lords Seventeen, were writing their governor general in Indonesia: "As tea begins to come into use by some of the people, we expect some jars of Chinese as well as Japanese tea with each ship." They got their jars on a regular basis thereafter, it appears, for within a few years tea had become a fashionable, if expensive, beverage among high society at The Hague. And if it sometimes cost the equivalent of a hundred dollars or more per pound, so what? The people Vermeer pictured for us in rooms rich with colored maps and intricate Oriental carpets were nothing if not affluent.

At first they bought their tea from apothecaries, who added it and other such luxury items as sugar and ginger and spices to their line of medicines. By the year of Vermeer's death (1675, six years after Rembrandt's), tea was being sold in grocery stores to rich and poor alike and was in general use throughout Holland. It is about this time we find a certain Dr. Bontekoe advising his Dutch readers to use eight or ten cups of tea daily, hastily adding he sees no reason to object to fifty, one hundred or two hundred cups, as he frequently consumed that much himself! The good Dr. Bontekoe met a premature end from a fall for which tea was no cure; his detractors thought him in the pay of the Dutch Fast India company, which had made him a handsome honorarium for the impetus he'd given their tea sales. Tea became a daily necessity in Dutch life as quickly as people could learn how to enjoy it. In the light of more recent history, it seems strange that tea drinking encountered no official intolerance in Europe-no rabid prohibitionists, no self-perpetuating anti-drug agency.

You can, however, trace the spread of tea from Holland by the proliferation of medical Viewers with Alarm. Even before regular imports began, the first of these had warned in a Latin treatise that tea "...Hastens the death of those that drink it, especially if they have passed the age of forty years." This same medical authority, Dr Simon Paulli, also assured his readers that "girl's breasts that are rubbed with the juice of hemlock do not grow thereafter, but remain properly small and do not change the size they are." Prior to Bontekoe's pronouncements, even a Dutch physician, prejudiced by a moldy batch it sounds like, could deride tea as "groats and dishwater, a tasteless and disgusting beverage!" Soon after tea reached Germany we find a German medico gravely blaming tea for the "dried-up" appearance of the Chinese and exclaiming, "Down with tea!

Send it back!" The mid-1600s saw tea set off the kind of raging debate the French are famous for, a prominent Parisian doctor becoming the first to denounce it as "the impertinent novelty of the century." A colleague of his was soon complaining that "the Dutch bring tea from China to Paris and sell it at thirty francs a pound, though they have paid but eight or ten sous in that country, and it is old and spoiled into the bargain. People must regard it as a precious medicament..." You can just see how he must have shook his head. Nonetheless, before the century is finished, poems to tea appear in French. In one of her letters, Madame de Sevigne finds it worthy of note that a friend of hers takes her tea with milk-imagine!-and the aged Racine, who died in 1699, begins every day drinking tea with his breakfast. There is a painting in the Louvre by a certain Olivier depicting perhaps the most famous French tea.

It is entitled Tea a l'anglaise in the Grand Salon of the Temple with the Court of the Prince de Conti Listening to the Young Mozart, and it is dated nigh a century after the honest de Sevigne gossip. It is precisely this depiction of how the French nobility gave an "English-style" tea party that assures us the French had given up on tea for themselves. Once the "novelty of the century" had worn off, almost all Frenchmen returned to the beverages traditionally associated with their national life-wines, mostly cheap and occasionally divine, and dark-roasted coffee. The Germans likewise, after the first flurry of excitement, came to ignore the new drink, preferring their old and true favorite, beer. A European tea merchant of 1700 would have recognized only two growing markets outside Holland-England and Russia. Tea History | History of Tea Back to Top The Emperor's Accidental Brew In the days of Chinese Emperor Shen Nung (2737-2696 BCE), drinking water was boiled for hygienic purposes. According to legend, the Emperor was boiling water over a fire that used branches from a nearby tea bush for firewood, when leaves from the branches blew into his pot.

Before he could retrieve the leaves, they began to brew. Being both a scholar and an herbalist, Shen Nung decided to taste it. And thus tea was introduced to the world! Back to Top Tea Catches on in Asia Originally consumed for medicinal purposes (often mixed with shallots, ginger, garlic or plums), tea grew in popularity in China. It became so popular that by the 4th century China began to cultivate tea rather than harvest it in the wild. By early 8th century, it was an important part of life in China and became the “national beverage.” The poet Lu Yu was commissioned by tea merchants to write the Ch'a Ching (documenting the sum of contemporary tea knowledge) in 780 AD, the same year the first tax was imposed on tea. Tea is thought to have first left Chinese borders in the 5th century, apparently used to barter with Turkish traders. By late 6th century, tea had accompanied Buddhist monks to Japan, and quickly became an integral part of Japanese life.

After many variations in manufacture over the centuries, contemporary styles of green, oolong, pu-erh and black teas emerged during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD). Back to Top East Meets West While it is likely that tea found its way to Europe via Turkish traders along the Silk Road as early as the 5th century, steady European trade in tea did not begin until the Portuguese landed in China in 1516, having found a sea route to the east. Dutch merchants entered the tea trade in the early 17th century, lucratively spreading tea throughout Europe. Britain was the last of the three great maritime nations to enter the tea trade, however once tea was introduced, it quickly became Britain's most popular beverage and enabled Britain to become a global superpower. When it comes to Britain, “The story of tea is the story of imperialism, industrialization, and world domination, one cup at a time.” (Tom Standage, “A History of the World in 6 Glasses”).

Britain granted the John Company (which was later merged with the East India Company) a monopoly of all trade east of the Cape of Good Hope and west of Cape Horn, which allowed it to dominate the tea trade for over a century. Its powers were practically equivalent to those of a sovereign nation, including acquiring and governing territory, coining its own money, declaring war, passing its own laws, etc. It was the largest and most powerful monopoly in world history. One of its most enduring contributions to the history of tea was the establishment of large scale commercial tea production in India in the early 1820s. Since then, India has consistently been one of the top producers of tea in the world. Back to Top The Boston Tea Party Most Americans’ link tea with their high school history class and the Boston Tea Party. But did you know the Dutch were the first to introduce tea to the North American colonies in the mid-1600's? It was an immediate hit. In fact, the colonies consumed more tea than all of England at that time. Following the French and Indian War, the British Government increased taxes on all sorts of goods in the colonies. The colonists rebelled, but were answered with even further tax hikes.

In June of 1767, the British instituted the tea tax, thinking they could capitalize on the colonists' incredible thirst for tea. Instead, the colonists boycotted British tea, which was left to rot in Boston Harbor. By December of that year, the colonists had had enough. A contingent of men from Boston, including major historical figures such as Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Paul Revere, dressed as Indians and boarded the British merchant ships, tossing hundreds of pounds of tea overboard. We now remember this event as the Boston Tea Party, which was an important precursor to the colonial declaration of revolution. Back to Top Ceylon Tea History Curiously, the story of Ceylon teas begins not with Camellia sinensis at all, but rather, with cinnamon. The island now known as Sri Lanka was historically referred to as “Ceylon” by the British colonial powers, until it gained independence in 1972 – hence, the name of Ceylon teas.

The first Europeans to colonize the island were the Dutch, which controlled the island and its peoples from the middle of the 17th century until the very end of the 19th century, and during that time, they grew tremendous amounts of cinnamon. Shortly after the British took control of Ceylon, the bottom fell out of the cinnamon market, forcing the colonial powers to invest in another cash crop: coffee. From about 1840 until 1870, there was a coffee ‘boom’ that drove prices through the roof and made it unbelievably profitable. Unfortunately, in the mid 1860’s, a coffee blight struck Ceylon, destroying thousands of plantations and once again pushing another crop into the spotlight: tea. Tea was introduced to Sri Lanka around the same time as coffee – around 1824 – the key difference being that coffee was introduced as a cash crop, while the tea plant that arrived that year was merely added to the Royal Botanical Gardens. It was not until 1867 that a British man named James Taylor decided to plant a tea plantation at Loolecondera, an estate in the central highlands region of the island.

In 1875, Taylor’s first shipment of tea arrived in London –a meager 23 pounds – but by 1890, his Loolecondera plantation was shipping 22,900 tons of tea back to England and tea had become Ceylon’s primary source of revenue. Back to Top Iced Tea Is Born The 1904 St. Louis World's Fair offered an opportunity for merchants from around the world to show off their wares. Little did tea merchant Richard Blechynden know it would also mark the beginning of America's love affair with iced tea! In the midst of a sweltering St. Louis summer, Blechynden's efforts to promote Indian black tea at the fair were proving unsuccessful. Hot tea was the last thing on the minds of those attending the fair. So, the enterprising merchant and his staff set out to develop an apparatus in which their brewed Indian tea would flow through iced lead pipes, creating a chilled beverage that was very well-received by fairgoers.

Not only was Blechynden successful in promoting Indian tea at the fair, he also uncovered America's seemingly endless thirst for iced tea - a thirst that has yet to be quenched to this day! Back to Top A Tea Alternative - Rooibos The word “rooibos” comes from the Afrikaans language and means “red bush,” which incidentally is a very apt description of the plant. Other names for rooibos are “bush tea,” “red bush tea,” “South African red tea,” or simply “red tea”. Rooibos isn’t actually a tea plant in the technical sense, meaning that it’s not derived from camellia sinensis like black tea, green tea, etc. It’s actually a legume: a bean plant called Aspalathus linearis. The leaves and stems are harvested during the summer and then left to “ferment” (technically “oxidize”), a process in which, among other things, the leaves shift from a yellow appearance to the characteristic red color and then dried. Drinking rooibos “tea” began with the Dutch.

Black tea was en vogue in eighteenth-century South Africa, but due to technological limitations, it was exceedingly difficult to import, leading the Dutch settlers to seek an alternative. That alternative, naturally, was rooibos, the indigenous peoples’ drink of choice. This tea-alternative remained popular in South Africa for a couple hundred years, but didn’t become a commercial crop until the early 20th century. A gentleman named Benjamin Ginsburg immigrated to South Africa in 1904, and, being the scion of a prominent family in the European tea trade, was immediately interested in rooibos. Ginsburg borrowed traditional Chinese methods for curing tea, and perfected the art of curing rooibos. Since he could never properly cultivate the plant, Ginsburg was forced to rely on native farmers to bring it down from the mountains until the early 1930’s, when he convinced Dr. le Fras Nortier to attempt rooibos cultivation in the lowlands. After years of experimentation, Dr. Nortier succeeded, and the Klein Kliphuis farm became the first rooibos tea farm.

Since then, rooibos has grown to become somewhat of a worldwide sensation, steadily growing in popularity, due to its taste and suggested health benefits. History of Tea History of Tea Tea in the U.S. | Modern Tea History The history of tea reaches back to nearly three thousand years B.C. into a time so distant that it has misted over into legend. An ancient Chinese story posits that tea was invented accidentally. The Chinese Emperor Shen Nung in 2737 B.C. was a man of advanced culture. He was somewhat of a scientist. He believed that drinking boiled water was more healthy than water straight from the well. He was said to have been sipping hot water with his subjects out of doors while travelling when a dried leaf fell into his drink. He sipped the drink and found that it was good. He felt it was invigorating. Thus it soon became a medicinal staple. 1 The tea plant is indigenous to eastern Asia. It seems that tea was first cultivated and harvested in Hunnan province in southern China, near the border with Viet Nam. This may have resulted from the power and renown of Emperor Shen Nung popularizing the drink among his people.

Tea became the national drink of China and is now grown in many regions of the country and beyond. All the Tea in China Some people give credit to tea for fostering a health-conscious culture early in China and other parts of east Asia. The idea is that the need for using boiled water (which kills the germs in water) coupled with the natural health benefits of provided by tea helped people to live longer, healthier, and happier lives. How long it took for this practice to disseminate throughout China is not known. What is known is that in 221 B.C. a tax was levied on tea, which means, by that time, it was in widespread use. At points in Chinese history dried bricks of tea were even used as money. In 350 A.D. tea was mentioned in an updated dictionary. The definition was "a beverage made from boiled leaves." 2 In about 780 Lu Yu wrote a book about Tea, called "Chai Ching", which meant "Tea Classic". In this three volume work he describes a very elaborate tea ceremony. Although this may have been followed by the upper classes, it is doubtful it was used extensively by other classes.

Even so, it does illustrate the caché tea had at the time (and still has). By the time of the Sung Dynasty (690-1279 A.D) tea became almost a mania in China. It was processed into bricks, pieces of which were cut off, ground into powder, and soaked in very hot water. Then a whisk was used to turn the liquid into a frothy brew. Tea rooms or houses became popular at this time where people could congregate and enjoy tea together. As Zen Buddhism began to take hold, the tea ceremony began to be scaled back to a simpler form. 3 The Chinese Emperor Hui Tsung became known as the "Tea Emperor" because of his fanatical love for tea. (He even wrote a treatise on tea.) Guidelines for picking this emperor's tea leaves were that only virgins using golden scissors were to be employed in the process. They could not touch the leaves with their fingers. 4 The upper class obsession with tea was even blamed for the demise of the Sung Dynasty and the success of the Mongol invasion. Interestingly enough, the Mongols did not have a taste for tea.

Marco Polo who was in China during the Mongol ascendancy never even mentions tea in his book about his travels. Tea in Japan Tea consumption spread beyond China to Japan. The influence seems to have been Buddhist monks who studied in China, and upon finding tea, brought some back with them to Japan. In 649 a Japanese monk named Gyoki is supposed to have planted tea bushes in 49 Buddhist temple gardens. 5 Nevertheless tea was not extensively grown in Japan. Because the best quality tea had to be imported, it was long a beverage consumed mainly by the upper classes. Europeans Discover Tea The Portuguese had discovered a rout to China around Africa. As part of a trading mission to China, the first European known to have consumed tea was the Portuguese Jesuit Father Jasper de Cruz in 1560. The Portuguese liked the tea and brought some back to Lisbon. Soon the Portuguese were shipping it throughout Europe. Seeing the great fortunes being made in Portugal, the Dutch began to also trade with China in the early 1600s. Tea came to England via a vicarious route. Charles II, whose father had lost his head trying to put down a revolution had married a Portuguese princess (infanta).

He also spent much time in the Dutch capital. He was waiting in exile to regain the British crown. Soon after Cromwell, the Great Protector's, demise, Charles who had acquired a taste for tea brought the drink home with him when he was placed on the throne. The John Company, which would later merge with the East India Company entered into the tea business in its own right soon thereafter. The tradition of afternoon tea in England came from Anna, the Dutchess of Bedford, who at about five in the afternoon typically invited guests to partake of tea and some light food. This was called "low tea" as it was taken in the early afternoon when people were feeling rather low or sleepy. A later tea, called "high tea" might also be taken. Because it comprised a full blown meal, it was often considered the "high" point of the day. Interestingly enough, in the U.S., where high tea is considered a special event, it is practiced more in the manner of "low tea" in Great Britain. Tea in Russia The Chinese ambassador brought tea to Russia as a gift for Czar Alexis. The Czar turned down the gift as "useless". Nevertheless, Russians soon saw benefits of the brew, especially in their cold climate.

By the 1680s camel caravans passed back and forth over the wastes of Siberia. However, this mode of transport was costly, and tea remained a drink restricted largely to the upper classes until it could be transported more economically by ship and later by rail. Tea in Russia was served from a boiling pot and tea server called a samovar. This became the center of the Russian household. Generally, tea was served strong, but sweetened. In spite of the interference of the Russian Revolution and the disruption caused by civil war, tea remained popular. Today it is still one of the leading beverages in the country. 6 Tea in the United States Tea naturally arrived in North America via Dutch and British colonization, first through New York and later through Boston - then the rest of the colonies. Smuggling was commonly practiced by merchants and much tea entered the country in this manner, reducing profits by the British East India Company. The government in London was having difficulty paying the bills accumulated during the recent Seven Years War (known as the French and Indian War in the colonies). One measure to solve this problem put into to place by parliament in 1767 was a tax on tea.

At this time the colonies had become prosperous and populous enough to expect a degree of representation in the government. This was denied the colonists even as measures were being made to tax them. The cry arose, "No taxation without representation." Parliament tried other measures and made efforts to secure the tax. When a shipload of tea entered Boston harbor a group of revolutionaries stormed the ship and dumped it overboard. In retaliation for this act of violence, the government sent troops to occupy the city of Boston. Thus, one of the greatest events in American history was triggered by tea. With the victory of the colonists over Great Britain, a new sea going power emerged. United States ships began their own trade with the orient. Some of the great millionaires at the time made their fortunes in the tea trade. The "Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company" began as a mail order house that sold tea through the mails. Now it is a large grocery chain. Modern Tea History Although tea was grown in Japan and in parts of southeast Asia, China was long the center of tea production. This began to change when a British botanist, by the name of Fortune, smuggled seeds out of China. It took some experimentation, but eventually the British began growing tea in India.

Iced tea was introduced to the world at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. In 1908 a New Yorker on the make, Thomas Sullivan, invented tea bags, which he first marketed to restaurants. Tea is the leading flavored beverage in the world today. Only water is consumed in greater quantities. The Green Tea Book: China's Fountain of Youth, by Lester A. Mitscher and Victoria Dolby Toews (1998) (p.29) Destinations: British Tea Time History - How Afternoon Tea Began British Tea Time History How Afternoon Tea Began How did the British tea time love affair begin? You might be surprised to learn that Great Britain was one of the last European countries to adopt the beverage. Today, no beverage seems more “British” than a steaming cup of tea. After all, what other nation loves tea enough to dedicate an entire meal to it? British tea time is an iconic cultural tradition. Although like many such traditions, it has declined in recent years due to the fast pace of modern life. How did the love affair with British tea time begin?

Almost everyone knows that tea originated in China, but you might be surprised to learn that Great Britain was one of the last European countries to adopt the beverage. From Teh To Tea The first European to take a sip of tea was probably an adventurous Portuguese gentleman doing business in the East, where Portugal pioneered European trade routes. In fact, the first European to write about tea was the Portuguese priest Father Jasper de Cru, in 1560. However, the Dutch eventually pushed Portugal out and claimed many of its trade routes for themselves, and it was Dutch traders who first imported tea to Europe around 1610. Tea quickly became a popular beverage on the continent, but it did not appear in England until the mid-seventeenth century, and even then it was still considered an exotic curiosity. Celebrity Buzz Tea drinking became fashionable in England after Charles II married the Portuguese princess Catherine of Braganza. She adored tea, and introduced it to the royal court. Just as people today will copy celebrities, people in the 17th and 18th centuries copied the royal family.

Tea drinking spread like wildfire, starting first among the nobles and then spreading to wealthy businessmen who liked to sit down for a nice “cuppa” in coffeehouses. Better Than Ale? Eventually, the middle classes and even poor laborers discovered the drink, and it began to supplant ale as the most commonly consumed beverage in late 18th century. There were arguments back and forth among prominent intellectuals as to whether this was a blessing or a curse-some felt that tea might be harmful to health. Tea Vice? Many upper-class thinkers seemed to think that while the wealthy should be free to pursue whatever unhealthy habits they wished, the working class needed to be protected from these same “vices” so that they would continue to have the strength to do difficult physical jobs for the rich. Of course, we now know so much about the positive health benefits of tea and the negative health effects of alcohol that this argument seems ridiculous! Tea For All! Really, the only thing that was unhealthy about the spread of tea drinking in England was the fact that tea was taxed so heavily and so expensive that it was often adulterated with other substances. Also, high tea taxes allowed smuggling rings to flourish. These operated much like drug rings do today.

Finally, in 1784 the government relented and lowered taxes on tea, making purer tea products available to the masses, leading to an explosion of demand. Afternoon Tea Tea is a popular beverage in many countries, but why did England name an entire meal after it? At first, the British really only had two daily meals-breakfast and dinner. Dinner was the heaviest meal of the day, and usually served in the afternoon. The custom of eating a regular “tea” began during the 1700’s, as people began serving dinner later and later in the evening. People started serving a light lunch in the early afternoon to fill the gap between breakfast and dinner, but this still left approximately 6 hours between meals with no refreshment. For the aristocracy, or at least for the Duchess Anna Maria of Bedford, 6 hours between meals was simply too long. She began to request a cup of tea and light snacks to be served around 5 pm, and then began to invite guests to join her. The custom of afternoon tea was born, and it spread like wildfire among the upper classes. National Beverage For centuries now, tea has been the national beverage of Great Britain.

Tea has so thoroughly integrated itself into British culture that is was actually rationed by the government during World War II to make sure the country’s morale didn’t suffer from the lack of it. Although the customs surrounding British tea time have changed over the years, England’s love for tea remains eternal. New! Comments: Like This Story? Leave A Comment! Tea History Pre-Classical Period (Before 618 A.D.) Legend has it that the first person to drink tea was a man named, Shien Non Shei, who one day took his wife and children mountain climbing. During the climb Shien Non Shei became quite thirsty and while he was feeling thirsty a leaf drifted onto his foot. He picked this leaf up and twisted the leaf with his fingers. The juice of the leaf went on to his fingers and he tasted the juice with his tongue. The taste of the juice was quite bitter, so Shien Non Shei felt that this leaf could have medicinal properties and could help quench thirst, when brewed. Thus, according to legend he was the first individual to drink tea. The first written reference of tea made and consumed appeared in 350 A.D.

Kuo P�o� updated an old Chinese dictionary to include the description of tea as �a beverage made from boiled leaves.� Tea during this time was made of leaves boiled in water with ginger, orange or other produce added to it. Although tea was mostly consumed for medicinal purposes to treat digestive and nervous conditions, people living in the interior part of China pressed tea into brick �currency� to barter with other tribes. From 350 to 600 A.D., the demand for tea dramatically increased and outstripped the supply of wild tea trees. Farmers began to grow tea plants in the Szechwan district, but soon tea cultivation had spread throughout China. Classical Period (618-907 A.D., Tang Dynasty) During this time, tea drinking evolved into an art form. Tea as part of the Chinese culture was epitomized by the book �Ch�a Ching� or �Tea Classic� written by Lu Yu in 780 A.D. This three volume book covered everything related to tea from the proper techniques to growing plants to brewing tea. There was even a detailed description of a formal tea ceremony utilizing 27 pieces of equipment.

Due to the complexity and the great number of accessories needed for the tea ceremony, only the affluent connoisseurs could afford all the equipment and the servants needed to prepare the tea. The connoisseurs included scholars, officials, and members of the royal court who studied the teachings of Confucius. As a result, the culture of tea contained a poetic aura. Tea during this period was sold in a brick form. The leaves were steamed, crushed, fired, and crushed into a brick. Tea was made by breaking a piece from this brick and boiling it in water. Lu Yu because of his book, �Tea Classic� is considered to be the �Father of Tea� in Chinese history. When he was a young boy, he was abandoned and Chi Chan, abbot of the Dragon Cloud Zen Monastery, adopted him. Lu Yu was brought up in the Zen tradition but decided to pursue the more poetic and scholarly ways of the Confucian tradition. After writing his �Tea Classic,� he attracted many students and became a friend of the Emperor. Romantic Period (690-1279 A.D., Sung Dynasty) During this period, every aspect of tea was further refined.

Harvests became carefully regulated affairs. Before the harvest began, sacrifices were made to mountain deities. After a specific day was chosen to harvest the leaves at their peak, the tea pickers picked leaves to the rhythm of a drum or cymbal. The tea pickers were usually young girls who had to keep their fingernails a certain length in order to pick the leaves without touching their skin. The freshly harvested leaves were sorted by grades with the best grades sent to the emperor as tribute. A cake of high grade tea could be worth several pieces of gold while one of the highest grade would be priceless. Tea during this time was made by breaking a piece off a tea brick and grinding it into a powder. This powder was then added to hot water and whipped with a bamboo whisk. Tea rooms and houses were built in order to enjoy tea at a social and spiritual level. There were even competitions among tea connoisseurs who were judged on the way they conducted their ceremony and on the quality of the tea leaves, water, and brewed tea. The art of making ceramic tea equipment was developed a great deal during this period. Tea bowls became deeper and wider to aid in the whipping.

Since the prepared tea had a very light green hue, black and deep blue glazes were used on the bowls to enhance the tea�s color. The most famous style of these bowls was a black bowl with lines running down the bowl called rabbits fur. Zen philosophy dominated this period and tea preparation became less complicated and more peaceful. The Japanese art of tea has its roots from this era. Naturalistic Period (1368-1911 A.D., Ming & Ching Dynasties) During this era, tea became a beverage to be enjoyed by everyone, rich and poor, Chinese and Europeans. The first written mention of tea in Europe was in Gaimbattista Ramusio�s book �Voyages and Travels.� He was a secretary of the Venetian Council of Ren, and he wrote about the health enhancing properties of tea. In 1606, the Dutch East India Company imported the first shipments of Chinese tea. Tea consumption spread throughout Europe, Africa, and the rest of Asia. In 1773, a group of U.S. colonists protesting the taxation of tea by Great Britain, boarded a ship from the Dutch East India Company and dumped its cargo of tea.

This event known as the Boston Tea Party is the reason why tea is not subject to import taxes today in the United States. Tea during this time was made from loose leaves steeped in hot water. Different methods to process tea originated during this period, which as a result led to different types of tea such as green, oolong, and black teas. Present Day Today, tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world after water. TenRen was founded in Taiwan in the early 1950's with the goal of preserving and educating the art of Chinese tea. In the United States tea has been experiencing tremendous growth. TenRen has been operating in the United States and Canada since the early 1980s with the goal of introducing the art of Chinese tea to a new audience. TenRen�s Lu Yu Tea Institute in Taiwan was established in 1970 with the goal of developing and refining Chinese tea culture. The Lu Yu Tea Institue has been the leader in the research, systemization, and development of tea equipment and tea brewing techniques. It has helped to educate many in Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and elsewhere in the proper methods and techniques of Chinese tea culture.

� 2015 Copyright Ten Ren Tea Inc., All Rights Reserved. 419 Eccles Avenue, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA Tel: 650-583-1047 Tea Consumers, Tea Trade, and Colonial Cultivation | University of Minnesota Libraries · University of Minnesota Libraries Sign in Tea Consumers, Tea Trade, and Colonial Cultivation Bell Library Home General Information The Collection Exhibits & Projects Special Events Fellowships The Associates Make a Gift Publications K-12 Resources by Thomas Breed At first glance, tea hardly seems a necessity. But to many Europeans of the early modern period, it was an attractive enough commodity to draw them around the world to China, and attractive enough to motivate them to attempt to grow it themselves in their various colonies. The English, Dutch, and Russians consumed the beverage in mass quantities, and all of them followed this pattern. Europe was introduced to tea during the early 17th century. The first printed mention of it is even earlier, in 1550, in the Navigationi e Viaggi by Gian Battista Ramusio of Venice, who describes it as Chai Catai, or tea of China (Britannica 738).

The first ship known to have brought tea to Europe was possibly Dutch, and arrived circa 1610 from Macao (Toussaint 597). The first Englishman to write about tea was R. L. Wickham of the East India Company in 1615, in a letter from Japan (Britannica 738). The first Russian source describes a caravan carrying tea in 1618 (Toussaint 601). Pierre Pomet, Histoire generale des drogues, traitant des plantes, des animaux, & des mineraux, Paris: Loyson & Pillon, 1694, p. 143. Tea did not begin as a necessity for England, though it quickly became one. It was first imported as an exotic medicine, then was promoted as a safe alternative to gin, and finally as a mass consumed product (Schirokauer 388). It was first sold in London at Garways Coffee House in 1657 (Britannica 738). Not much later, Oliver Cromwell began taxing tea (Toussaint 597).

Eventually, tea came to account for a tenth of the British tax income, and henceforth became a drink of national importance not only culturally but also politically. Culturally, tea became a staple. Britain imported 15 million pounds of tea annually (Schirokauer 388). Consumption had increased 200 fold from 1700 to 1750, though this increase only includes tea which was actually taxed. Smuggling was rampant, both for the sake of profit and as a political protest (Schivelbusch 79-80). A more explosive protest resulted in the 18th century when parliament, in order to help the East India Company overcome financial difficulties, allowed them to bypass American middlemen and sell large quantities of Chinese tea directly to American distributors. The ensuing uproar contributed to the American Revolution (Palmer 341-42). The Netherlands also imported large amounts of tea. By 1770, they imported two thirds as much as Britain (Toussaint 598). Besides Britain, Holland was the only West European country to popularly consume tea (Ibid 597).

Dutch ships competed with British to bring tea the most quickly from China to Europe in the Tea Race. This was not only important from the standpoint of sportsmanship, but also for the quality of the tea. The longer it remained on a ship, the more likely it was to be spoiled (Ibid 598). This led the British and Dutch to consider importing their tea by land across Russia. The Russian tariffs made the tea too expensive, however, and the scheme was abandoned (Ottuv 853). The most notable difference between the West European and Russian tea trades was the means of transport. Russian tea was brought by caravan. The earliest official record of tea being drunk was in 1638, by Tsar Mikhail Fyodorovich, the first of the Romanovs. He received it as a gift from a Mongol Tsar. In 1679, a trade agreement was established between Russia and China to regularize the tea trade. Following this, both the amount of tea imported and consumed increased dramatically (Bolshaya 11).Most of this tea was brought by caravan.

This resulted in better tasting tea, according to the Dictionnarie de Cuisine, which identified St. Petersburg and Moscow teas as the best (Toussaint 601). William Coxe, Account of the Russian Discoveries between Asia and America. London: J. Nichols, 1780, p. 211. As an alternative to buying it from China, all three countries sought to grow their own tea. In Britains case, tea caused a massive trade imbalance, in which British exports to China equaled only one tenth of the cost of tea imported (Schirokauer 389). Presumably, the Netherlands suffered similarly. After the mid-eighteenth century, the Russians were able to better penetrate the Chinese market with sea otter pelts, allowing them to avoid such trade imbalances (Bobrick 220). Russia was unable to satisfy its demand for tea through the caravan trade alone, however, and was forced to buy tea from British ships (Ottuv 852). Eventually, they also tried to grow their own tea. All three countries could have solved their problem by simply raising the price of tea.

In Britain and the Netherlands, this would have paid for its extra cost, while in Russia, this would have been a natural reaction to an insufficient supply. But in all three countries, mass consumption was considered preferable to allowing tea to become a luxury item. As a result, the search for cheaper places to grow tea began. The Dutch grew their own tea in Indonesia. By 1892, the majority of their tea was imported from Java (Ottuv 852). In 1826, J.I.L.L. Jacobson had smuggled tea out of China, and established its cultivation in the Dutch East Indies (Britannica 738). The British centered their tea production in India. In 1823, tea was discovered growing in northern India, but the British did not organize its cultivation until 1834, under the direction of Governor General Lord William Henry Cavendish (Britannica 738). By the 1880s, Indian tea supplanted Chinese tea in the British market (Ottuv 852).

Soon afterwards, Indian tea was the most popular tea everywhere, except in Arabia, which continued purchasing Chinese tea (Toussaint 598). The British success depended on the more efficient usage of fertilizers and labor (Schirokauer 457). Russia had also begun to cultivate tea in its colonies. In 1814, N.A. Garvis attempted growing it in the Crimea, but failed. In 1847, in Ozurgeti, now in southwestern Georgia, teas was successfully grown. Soon after, its cultivation began in other Russian regions of the Caucasus (Bolshaya 11). Tea was also cultivated in other parts of the world. Experiments in Africa, South America, and California ensued during the second half of the 19th century. (Ottuv 852). In 1890, tea was cultivated for a short time in South Carolina (Americana 341). Johan Nieuhof, lAmbassade de la Compagnie orientale des Provinces Unies vers lEmpereur de la Chine, Leiden: Jide Meurs, 1665, p. 74.

In conclusion, the difficulties of importing tea from China to Europe led the importers to begin growing tea in other parts of the world. In Britain and probably the Netherlands, cost was the primary factor, while in Russia it was availability. In all three countries, the mass appeal of tea demanded that a solution, other than simply raising its price, be found. In all three countries, the solution adopted was its cultivation in their warmer colonies. While tea is not a necessity of life, its appeal to consumers and their influence decided the course taken by both business and government. From that standpoint, the trade in tea can be seen as a marker between the modern and premodern worlds. Bibliography Tea History - Europe - Colonies The Dutch brought tea to Europe from China, trading dried sage in exchange. 1618 Chinese ambassadors presented Czar Alexis with a gift of several chests of tea. 1657 Tea was first sold in England at Garway's Coffee House in London.

The East India Company operated out of several sites in the City of London, the first in Philpot Lane, Fenchurch, then it took a lease on Lord Northampton's mansion, Crosby Hall, Bishopsgate and then in 1658 another move before it finally leased Lord Craven's House in Leadenhall Street. Under the terms of a charter granted by Elizabeth I, The East India Company owned all trading rights and controlled the sale of those imported goods back to Britain. 1661 The Taiwanese began to drink wild tea. 1662 Charles II took Catherine Braganza of Portugal as his wife. They both drank tea, creating a fashion for it. Its popularity among the aristocracy causes alcohol beverages to fall from favor. 1669 Close to 150 pounds of tea were shipped to England. Until 1669, most of the tea drunk in Britain was bought from the Dutch. 1689 Traders with three hundred camels traveled 11,000 miles to China and back in order to supply Russia's demand. The trip took sixteen months. 1697 In Taiwan, settlers of Formosa's Nantou County cultivated the first domestic bushes.

Dutch ships carried the tea to Persia, the first known export of Taiwanese tea. 1705 The yearly importation of tea to England grew to approximately 800,000 pounds 1706 The first auction dedicated to tea took place in Craven House, which became known as East India House. These East India Company auctions were held quarterly. Such early auctions were "Sold by the Candle," a system whereby a candle was marked off in inches, it was lit when the bidding began, the hammer was brought down as the first inch line was reached and so on down the candle for each lot. 1710 Wealthy American Colonists developed a taste for tea. 1773 The Tea Act of 1773 giving the East India Company control of trading in the Americas imposed the same taxes and levies on the colonists as paid by the British. Objection led to an act of rebellion known as the Boston Tea Party in December 1773, which is commonly viewed as a first step towards the American War of Independence. Under cover of night, colonists dressed as Native Americans boarded the East India Company ships in Boston Harbor. They opened chests of tea and dumped their contents into the water.

This was repeated in other less known instances up and down the coast. 1776 China was the main tea source of eighteenth century. Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka), Central and Eastern African countries were sending teas to the London Auction. 1833 The East India Company enjoyed its monopoly for two and a half centuries. Independent merchants campaigned for change and modernization, which was achieved in 1833. 1834 An imperial edict from the Chinese Emperor closed all Chinese ports to foreign vessels until the end of the First Opium War in 1842. Royal Assent was given to the Bill who rescinded the charter given to the East India Company; this came into force on 22nd, April 1834. The brokers began to look for new premises and found a dancing studio in Exchange Alley, City of London. In November 1834 the tea auctions were moved again to the newly built London Commercial Salesrooms, Mincing Lane and remained there until 30th January 1937 when they moved down the lane to Plantation House.

1840's Clipper ships, built in America, sped-up the transportation of tea to America and Europe, livening the pace of trade. Some ships could make the trip from Hong Kong to London in ninety-five days. Races to London became commonplace; smugglers and blockade runners also benefited from the advances in sailing speeds. 1870 Twinings of England began to blend tea for consistency. Tea companies began to blossom in Britain by the late nineteenth century blending, branding and packaging were giving the public a wide variety of choice. 1900 Trans-Siberian railroad made transport to Russia cheaper and faster. Java became an important producer as well. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the London Tea Auction had grown in importance. Most working days of the week were allotted to a particular country's sale with minor suppliers being herded together on convenient days. 1904 Richard Blechynden created iced tea for the St. Louis World Fair. 1909 Thomas Sullivan invented tea bags in New York, sending tea to clients in silk bags, which they began to mistakenly steep without opening. 1910 Sumatra, Indonesia grows and exports tea.

Soon thereafter, tea is grown in Kenya and other parts of Africa. 1918 A National Tea Control was brought in, tea was split into three grades and sold at a fixed retail price of two shillings and eight pence, the equivalent of three and a half modern pence. 1919 The London Tea Auction resumed on 5th May 1919. 1920 - 1930 The tea trade suffered a slump like most other industry in Britain. However the tea trade found export markets to fill the gap. 1940 As Britain recovered, so did the UK tea trade, but again the economy collapsed with World War II. In 1940 tea was rationed, this remained until October 1952. 1952 The London Tea Auction resumed and took place in Plantation House until it moved to Sir John Lyon House on 8th, February 1971. Since then the tea trade has seen the introduction of the off shore auction, tea sold by the container whilst on route for the UK and the growth of the producer countries' own auctions due to increased volumes.

1970 The Taiwanese government encouraged its population to drink tea, revitalizing tea culture on the island. 1998 In the last twenty years the frequency of and volumes sold at the London Tea Auction have declined. In 1990 the auction moved to The London Chamber of Commerce where it closed in 1998. *Information provided by 2003 India is the country with the most tea consumption in the world - an average of 651,000 metric tons per year. China is second, and consumes about 463,000 metric tons per year. USA is number one consumer of iced tea, with between 80% and 85% of our total tea consumed that way. 2006 Water is the most consumed beverage in the world, but tea is number two. With the explosion of the Internet, almost any type of tea is easily available to anyone with a computer throughout the world. Take a look at the tea producing regions of the world with our tea map .

Question: What European nation was the first to drink tea?
Answer: The Dutch